`LONE STAR' SHINES WITH DETAILS.

Byline: Amy Dawes Daily News Staff Writer

In the Texas border town of ``Lone Star,'' new sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) approaches an old lady sitting on her porch to seek clues in a murder case that may have involved his late father, a legendary local lawman.

``Mrs. Bledsoe, I'm Sheriff Deeds,'' he says.

``Sheriff Deeds is dead, honey, you're just Sheriff Jr.,'' she answers.

``Yeah, that's the story of my life,'' he agrees.

It's the starting point for the story of Deeds' quest to learn the truth about the man whose long shadow he walks in - and for filmmaker John Sayles' penetrating look at the way a younger generation must reinterpret old myths in order to cope with a new world.

People in Frontera don't mind letting Sam know that he doesn't begin to measure up to the memory of his father, Buddy (Matthew McConaughey), the cool, fearless lawman who, according to local legend, was the first man with the steel to stand up to former sheriff Charley Wade (Kris Kristofferson), an evil bribe-taking murderer who had the townspeople running scared for years, and whose disappearance was an event nobody cared to investigate.

When Wade's bleached bones and rusted badge turn up in the desert 40 years later, Sam finds himself investigating Buddy's exalted memory.

Would a lawman like Buddy Deeds make any sense today, and did he ever exist? Or was he a bribe-taker, bigot and adulterer, as Sam begins to believe, and did he actually murder Charley Wade? And even if the worst is true, can the realities and deeds of one era be judged against those of another?

Not only Sam, but everyone in Frontera (Spanish for ``border'') is dealing with the burden of local or personal history - even the nature of the battle of the Alamo remains a subject of heated debate.

In a story that jumps back and forth in time, Sayles compares the deeds, legends and secrets of an older generation with the effect they are having on a newer one, pulling in subplots involving the Mexican-American family of Sam's high school sweetheart (Elizabeth Pena) and an African-American family (headed by Joe Morton) stationed on the endangered local Army base.

More successfully than he did in ``City of Hope,'' Sayles uses a large cast and interwoven stories to express both personal stories and a larger sociological one.

His grasp of border-town atmosphere and politics is authentic, and he allows his characters the time to develop in surprising and often startling ways, making the town truly come alive. Best, he ends the murder mystery (as opposed to the slightly overboard love story) with a neat and satisfying twist.

About the only difficulty here is Sayles' mixed success with casting - the laconic Cooper (of ``Lonesome Dove''), who seems to experience all events from the detached, thoughtful recesses of his mind, may embody Sayles' ideal of modern masculinity, but he makes a fairly dull movie hero. McConaughey (``Boys on the Side'' and the upcoming ``A Time to Kill'') is riveting in his few scenes as Buddy, and one wishes he had been assigned to carry the movie as the younger Deeds. But there are plenty of crackling supporting roles - Kristofferson, who's aging craggily and well, comes off as mean as a snake and dead-on believable; Elizabeth Pena is a standout as the sultry and vulnerable but cooly mature schoolteacher; and Frances McDormand steals her piece of the movie in a startling and poignant turn as Sam's ex-wife, a high-strung sports nut.

The real achievement of Sayles' movie, which has caused a favorable stir with critics already, is that he allows the modern world to be as complex as it truly is, and invests his characters - and by extension, his audience - with his confidence that they are up to the task of dealing with it.

``Lone Star'' is decidedly not the slam-bang thrill ride of the summer, and by now, you may consider that a good thing. Its title, incidentally, is a symbol of independence, referring to the Texas flag, which was adopted in 1839 while Texas was actually an independent republic, several years before it became a state.

The facts The film: ``Lone Star'' (R; violence, sex).

The stars: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey, Joe Morton, Clifton James, Ron Canada.

Behind the scenes: Written, directed and edited by John Sayles. Produced by R. Paul Miller and Maggie Renzi. Executive producer, John Sloss. Released by Castle Rock Entertainment.

Running time: Two hours, 15 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Three stars